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Rainwater Smart Agriculture for food security – Case study of Piloting Rain Water
Harvesting and Community Based Climate Change Adaptation Planning in 3 Districts of
Rwanda.
Lead Author: Karulinda, Emmanuel, Programme Officer, Sustainable Livelihoods and
Environmental Justice, Trocaire, Rwanda.
Other Authors
Hogan, Rose; Umuhire, Marie Louise; Bizimana, Xavier; Ngabo, Janvier, Mizero, Jules and
Twagirumuhire, Theoneste
Abstract
Although rainfall is plentiful in the central and southern highlands of Rwanda there are water
shortages for an average of 90 days in the dry season. The steep slopes, which are cultivated
up to three times per year, are subject to high levels of run off and the valley bottom water
bodies suffer high levels of siltation. Women and girls carry water from these valley bottoms
in the dry season and the higher levels springs are becoming less enduring due to land
degradation and erosion. Since early 2015, Trócaire in collaboration with four local partner
organisations, has been piloting Rainwater Harvesting Technologies for capture of rainfall
from household rooves and from footpaths between fields. A variety of collection, storage, and
lifting systems are being tested by over 753 individual households and 374 members of
farmers’ cooperatives. This paper describes the water dynamics in four catchment areas, the
site surveys, and the criteria for matching household circumstances with different collection
and storage systems and the systems themselves. Cost-saving by using bamboo reinforcement
in storage tanks instead of steel reinforcing bar and by building semi-underground storage tanks
rather than fully over ground storage tanks is a feature of these trials.
Key words: Rainwater harvesting, water technologies, community water resources
management.
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1. Introduction
Rwanda is a small, landlocked country, 26,338Km2 with 11.5 million of population, and annual
population growth of 2.76%. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, ranked 163 on
HDI, with 39.1% of the population living below the poverty line of 2$ a day, women being the
most affected. The country’s economy is highly depend on agriculture, where 87% of the
population depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihood, with limited income
alternatives. This results in limited access to land resources where the average land size per
household of 5 people is 0.5ha, and becomes one of the biggest challenges that people face for
their livelihoods. Pressure on other natural resources is also seen through environmental
degradation as a result of overexploitation and improper use of natural resources especially
land and water resources.
Precipitation is the main source of water for agricultural production and generally the country
has sufficient rainfall with 2 rainy seasons throughout the year. Unfortunately, about 4.3 km3
of rain water is lost as runoff water every year and causes soil damage. For various reasons,
including limited water storage capacities, less than 2% of the available rainwater resource is
used. This situation is compounded by the impact of climate change on the country which is
leading to different shocks and disasters such as floods, landslides, dry spells, and risks of crop
losses.
To address the above mentioned challenges, rainwater harvesting has been identified as one of
the strategies toward Integrated Water Resources Management, with its double advantage of
contributing to improve water availability and to mitigate the hazards related to excess runoff
and environment destruction. The Government of Rwanda recognizes that Integrated Water
Resources Management has a central place in achieving the poverty reduction and economic
transformation goals, outlined in the Vision 2020, EDPRS II and various sectoral plans
(MINIRENA 2013). The promotion and adoption of Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is one of the
key outputs under the Water Resources Management policy, seeking to ensure efficient and
sustainable use and conservation of water. At national level a RWH strategy has been
developed.
This paper describes the piloting of Integrated Water Resources management (IWRM) with a
focus on rain water harvesting technologies by the Water for Agricultural Production Project
funded by the Scottish Government and implemented by Trόcaire Rwanda in partnership with
SCIAF through 4 local partners namely IFPG, UNICOOPAGI, COCOF and MMM Kirambi.
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This was done through community education in climate change adaptation, dissemination of
low cost technologies in rain water harvesting and the development of community-based
climate change adaptation plans. In order to upscale and sustain the achievements from the
pilot phase, manuals focusing on the management and maintenance of the different rain water
harvesting technologies were developed and local communities were trained. In the following
sections, the paper explains the methodology used for the project implementation, the project
experience on rain water harvesting technologies, the lessons learned and challenges
encountered during the last 36 months of the pilot phase. The paper ends with conclusions and
recommendations.
2. Methodology
2.1.Project Area Profile
The geographical coverage of the project was chosen with priority to the poorest Districts in
Rwanda and covers three Districts of the Southern Province namely Nyanza, Nyamagabe and
Kamonyi. Nine villages from the above mentioned Districts were chosen to pilot the
technologies. Communities from these villages depend on agriculture for their livelihoods but
don’t have enough water to help them boost their agricultural production during the dry season.
The scope of the project is limited to Rubanga and Nyarusange villages in Kamonyi District,
Gikomero, Gatare, Nyarugeti, Ngororero and Uwinyana in Nyamagabe District and Bweru and
Mpaza villages in Nyanza District. The altitude ranges between 1,300 meters and 2,700 meters,
Nyamagabe being the highest. All villages have steeply sloping topography, although there are
differences between the four areas (See topographical maps 1, 2 & 3 showing hydrological
features). All the villages experience a short rainy season from September to November and a
long rainy season from February to May. The short dry season runs from December to January
and the long dry season from June to mid-September. The annual rainfall varies from 1200 to
1450 mm and average temperature ranges between 17 and 20 degrees Celsius, Nyamagabe
being the coolest and Kamonyi the warmest. Crop farming and animal husbandry are the main
economic activities. Other activities such as commercial activities and construction manpower
are done by a small number of households.
During the baseline study, by the community members in a participatory manner, of 122
households (HH) using the Ministry of Finance’s ubudehe system of poverty classifications,
approximately half of the sampled households are classified as ‘poor’ and are in Category 1 of
national ubudehe classification, while 38% are ‘very poor’ and 10% are in ‘abject poverty’ and
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are in Category 2 of national ubudehe categorization. The majority of plot sizes per household
are in the range of 0.61-0.85 hectares. Approximately 75% of households possess either poultry
or other livestock. The most common source of energy for cooking is wood. Although
government statistics show that Rwanda has turned around the trends in deforestation (REMA
2015), there is evidence of water resources degradation due to the removal of woody species.
Trees and shrubs are cut and crop residues are used for fuel such that soil is exposed to erosion
due to extreme shortage of fuelwood especially in Kamonyi. Changes to cropping such as the
substitution of bananas by root crops such as Irish potatoes and cassava/manioc have led to a
comparatively higher level of soil disturbance at harvest of the root crops which has increased
erosion in agricultural lands. Pressure to produce adequate food and cash crops means that
three cultivations of the land take place each year thus loosening soil structure, increasing
evaporation and increasing vulnerability to erosion. During a baseline survey done by Trόcaire
in January 2015 across the villages targeted by the project, most (85%) of the 122 households
(60% Female Headed Households (FHH) and 40% Male Headed households (MHH) testified
that they know about the climate change phenomenon. A proportionate stratified sampling
technique was used to collect information on water resources and climate change from
households within the study areas. Using a sample frame, a sample size of 15% households
was drawn from the total target population of 802 households. A large number of residents
(73%) cited observation of nature as their source of information on the climate change
phenomenon. More than half (58 %) attribute climate change to religious reasons “God’s wish,
or God’s punishment due to human being sins”. 30% of the respondents could not explain what
causes climate change, and a few respondents (11%) attribute the climate change phenomenon
to deforestation, ozone destruction and industrial pollution. The respondents said unanimously
that the climate change phenomenon is illustrated by change in rainfall patterns,
unpredictability of rainfall patterns, change of seasons, unpredictable decrease/increase of
amount of precipitation and periodic dryness. The respondents cited starvation, poverty, water
shortage and natural catastrophes (floods, erosion) as the main consequences of the climate
change phenomenon. For climate change adaptation the majority of respondents (92%) claimed
to have done anti-erosion terraces and planted anti-erosion trees and bushes.
The baseline survey found that some traditional rainwater harvesting is practiced. For example
in Nyanza it was found that the traditional rainwater harvesting technique is very poor in both
the catchment (roof) and the storage system (no conveyance system such as gutters and
conveyance pipes). This practice consists of manually collecting rainwater from a roof using
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small and removable home containers such as pans, drums, bowls and pots. The absence of a
conveyance system does not allow the collection of a sufficient amount of rainwater. Mostly
households were not aware of the phenomenon of storing big volumes of water to be used for
an extended period. However, for daily usage, rainwater is stored into domestic containers such
as jerricans, pans, pots, bowls and drums. As indicated before, wastewater is not well managed
and used except some households which use kitchen waste water for watering pigs and for
gardening.
2.2.The catchments
The 9 villages are located in four catchment areas which comprise agricultural land (over 75%),
forests (approximately 16%), human settlements (less than 6%), and water bodies (over 3% ).
Like most cases in Rwanda, in these catchments, rainfall is distributed seasonally in two rainfall
periods. The amount of rainfall collected in these catchments area should be big enough for
both agriculture and domestic uses. However, there is no suitable technique for harvesting
enough quantitatively and qualitatively. For agriculture purposes, runoff is not well directed
and collected in the structures which could keep it in the soil and improve soil moisture. Most
cases where runoff is not well harvested, it causes erosion and therefore environmental
degradation. However, some practices such as bench and progressive terracing, tree planting
and road canals have been introduced to handle this issue. Human activities such as natural
resources exploitation (farming, mining and quarrying, human settlement, deforestation) have
caused natural resources degradation as they were not well designed. Generally, the existing
green areas (forest and vegetation) in these catchments are legally protected under regulations
from local authorities.
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Map 1: Topographical map showing hydrological features in Rubanga & Nyarusange Villages
of Kamonyi District.
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Map 2: Topographical map showing hydrological features in Bweru & Mpaza Villages of
Nyanza District
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Map 3: Topographical map showing hydrological features in Nyarugeti & Ngororero Villages
of Kamonyi District
2.3.Water situation in the targeted districts
Recent government domestic water access data is available for each district under the
Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (Enquête Intégrale sur les Conditions de Vie
des ménages EICV3) (National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, 2012). For example
Nyamagabe, which is ranked worst in terms of poverty with 73% of its population identified
as poor (including extreme-poor), is 17% below the Economic Development and Poverty
reduction Strategy (EDPRS) national target requirement for the water and sanitation sector,
which aims to increase access to safe drinking water to 85%. The EICV3 results indicate that
68% of Nyamagabe district households use an improved drinking water source (protected
springs, public standpipes, water piped into dwelling/yard, boreholes, protected wells and
rainwater collection, as defined by the World Health Organisation). In Nyamagabe district the
majority of households use protected spring water (51%), followed by a public standpipe
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(8.5%) and protected well (6.5%). It is important to note that 32% of households still use
unimproved water sources. More than a third (36.5%) of households in Nyamagabe district are
within 15 minutes’ walking distance of an improved water source and it is also important to
note that 16% of households still walk 30 minutes and above to reach an improved water
source.
Trόcaire baseline survey in the project areas, found that only 13% households have their nearest
source of water at a distance less than 100 meters; 28% households have their nearest source
of water between 100 meters and 500 meters, and more than 59% households have their nearest
water source at a distance greater than 500 meters. Water sources included groundwater
aquifers / springs, wetland/marshland, rivers/streams and limited piped networks before the
project implementation. Only 7.4% of surveyed households have an improved water source.
This is far fewer households than the average figure of 68% found by the EICV3 survey.
Rainwater harvesting was introduced at the project’s inception.
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Table1: Domestic water sources. (Trocaire a, 2015)
Project geographical area Water sources
Villages/Districts Sample size
Ground water
aquifer/spring
Marshlands Rivers/ streams Network of
potable water
Rubanga and Nyarusange
Village in Kamonyi District.
FHHs 13
8 6 1 3
MHHs 10
7 6 0 5
Gikomero and Gatare villages
in Nyamagabe District
FHHs 14
8 10 7 0
MHHs 10
6 9 5 0
Uwinyana & Nyarugeti
villages of Nyamagabe
District.
FHHs 27
21 11 0 1
MHHs 19
16 7 0 0
Bweru and Mpaza villages of
Nyanza District.
FHHs 19
10 14 11 0
MHHs 10 4 6 7 0
Total in percentage
65.57% 56.56% 25.41% 7.38%
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2.4.Project approach and description
The Water for Agricultural Production Project is funded by the Scottish Government through
the partnership between Trócaire and the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF)
and aims at integrating technologies and practices in rain water harvesting and waste water
management in order to boost agricultural production and increase the climate change
resilience of small scale farmers.
The project’s overall objective is: “Targeted households have resilient livelihoods as a result
of increased knowledge and capacity in water resources management, technologies and
practices. “
Five project outputs were planned;
1. Households in 9 communities are educated in climate change adaptation practices and
planning.
2. Roof water harvested and used for vegetable production by FHHs and MHHs.
3. Run-off water harvested and used for agricultural production by FHHs and MHHs.
4. Household wastewater recycled and used for vegetable production by FHHs and FHHs.
5. Climate Change adaptation technologies and practices in 9 communities are documented
for internal and external learnings.
This paper focuses mainly on outputs 2 and 3 which relate to Rainwater Harvesting.
The project activities included the identification of the most vulnerable households and groups
for runoff ponds; a whole-village water resources survey; a rainwater harvesting survey to
match houses and sites to appropriate technologies; community education and organisational
skilling about water resources and climate change.
2.5.Community education in climate change adaptation practices and planning
Figure 1 below outlines the process of engaging with communities to assess their water
resources and prepare community water resources management plans.
Firstly, householders were provided with training in climate change adaptation. Secondly,
villagers were asked to establish Community Climate Change and Water Committees for the
implementation and monitoring of the climate change adaptation plans. Thirdly, villagers
developed a village water resources map, followed by a transect walk to validate the key points
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which helped them to develop a vulnerability matrix. Water field officers were recruited and
trained per pair of villages in order to facilitate the villagers’ engagement and training
throughout the project. A stakeholder’s workshop has been organized as well to facilitate the
villagers share their findings and expectations with local authorities and decision makers.
Key Steps taken to Prepare for Community-Based Adaptation Plan
Step 1: Discuss climate change impacts with a particular focus on water resources
The impacts the villagers already see
The impacts the scientists forecast for Rwanda
Explanation of Climate Change adaptations, Rwandan NAPA and the priority of
Integrated Water Resources Management
Request for villagers to elect the Village Climate Change and Water Committee
Step 2: Assess opportunities, capacity, vulnerability and risks by developing a map
Prepare village Climate Change and Water Committee in developing the village water
resources map
Mapping of village water resources by villagers facilitated by Village Climate Change
and Water Committee
Transect walk to validate key sites identified on the map
Assess water resources management capacities (individuals and organisation)
Step 3: Analysing water resources issues and opportunities and prioritising actions
Step 4: Making a Water and Climate Change Adaptation Plan
Key areas to focus on: Erosion control; protecting vulnerable zones; run off rain
harvesting; clean water supply etc.
Step 5: Implementing priority actions relating to water resources management
Implement agreed actions in the Village Action Plans
Formalise the village water resources management organisation
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2.6.Site assessments and data collection for rain water harvesting technologies
An assessment was conducted by consultants in the 9 project villages to gain a better
understanding of the technical feasibility; cost effectiveness and replicability by the local
population of the proposed technologies (Trocaire, 2015 a). Study visits were made to areas
where these technologies have been applied and proven successful.
The site assessments were done following two specific objectives;
To identify issues relating to water needs for the households (domestic, gardening,
sanitation, livestock etc.)
To measure roof size and describe types of roofing materials.
. The rainwater survey studied 406 households situation of the households identified as
neediest. For this purpose, a checklist was established (See Annex 1), with a specific focus on
physical and social criteria such as roof size and type, negative interaction with the surrounding
environment (erosion, flooding, structures destruction), availability of rainwater tanks, water
need, source of potable water, contribution to RWH project implementation and accessibility
to the site. Measurements of roof sizes (0 to 25m2, 25 m2 to 70 m2 or over 70 m2) were done
together with an evaluation of the roofing materials (tiled or iron sheet) and land suitability for
construction.
2.7.Tank sizing
In deciding size of the tanks two methods were used; the “method of scarcity period” and the
“cumulative method”.
Method of Scarcity period: This method is mainly used where the rainfall is very short
(especially in dry areas) and the water demand cannot be covered regularly by harvested water
in the tanks. However, even if the rainfall is not short, the same method was used as the volume
of water flow from the roof was too small given that the household’s assessment indicated that
90% of the households are tile -roofed1. This method consists on the determination of water
scarcity period which means rain distribution through year. In the project area, this period is
for 90 days (July-August-September) and the tank sizing has been done taking into
consideration household water demand during this period and an estimation of the total volume
of water that can be harvested yearly from the rooves.
1 Clay tiles absorb high volumes of water and thus provide less runoff water than iron sheeting.
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The potential collected rainwater on roof area will be given by the following equation:
V= PxRCxS
Where:
V= volume of potential collected rainwater (m3)
P= Annual Rainfall (mm)
RC= Roof coefficient
S= Roof surface area (m2)
Cumulative method: this method is suitable with the regions where the rainfall is enough and
regular (case of our region) and the roof runoff coefficient2 is high enough to collect big volume
of water. Following are the procedures to estimate the capacity of a water tank able to supply
sufficient water throughout the year for a family:
Determine the water demand for each month;
Decide catchment area/areas from where rainfall is going to be harvested;
Obtain average rainfall data from the nearest meteorological station, at least 10 years
record;
List rainfall data sequentially starting from the month with highest rainfall record;
Decide the runoff coefficient based on the nature of harvesting surface or catchment
area;
Compute the amount of runoff that can be collected for each month;
Calculate the difference between cumulative volumes of water harvested and total
demand per month
If the difference between the supply and demand is positive there will not be water
shortage during the year. Thus, design will be chosen depending on the maximum
volume of water, the difference between the cumulative water harvested and
cumulative water demand.
2 The runoff coefficient determines how much water will flow from the catchment surface when it rains and how
much get lost. A coefficient of 0 = 0% runoff, a coefficient of 1 = 100% runoff
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Seasonal rainfall data and the runoff coefficient, which determines how much water will flow
from the catchment surface when it rains and how much gets lost, were used in calculating the
potential volumes which could be collected. Potential demand for domestic and irrigation needs
were calculated and tank type and size was matched to that need.
2.8.Tank design
Apart from the roof size, roof type, rainfall availability and water demand, other factors such
as available space for infrastructures, available low cost materials and soil structures were also
taken into consideration for the tank design. For example, for small tiled rooves where low
volumes could be collected, it was decided to provide semi-underground tanks which have their
own iron-roofed catchment in order to boost the volume of water collected.
Three types of tanks were chosen for individual households: - semi-underground tank, bamboo
tank and plastic/polythene tank. Ferro cement tanks were not chosen because they were as
expensive as plastic tanks and could be replaced by bamboo tanks for a much lower cost.
Runoff sites were also identified to provide groups of farmers with large volume poly-lined
irrigation ponds.
Each infrastructure was fitted with other necessary parts such as plastic conveyance pipes,
outlet taps, gutters, first-flush filters, down pipes, pumps, joints and recharge trenches.
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Table 2: Technology choice and comparison
Water Technology Type Comments Construction steps
Polyethylene Water Tank
The estimated price for 5m3
tank is 900 USD
Plastic; can be moved from
one place to another without
damages
Materials not found locally
The price varies according
to the tank size
Doesn’t require much space
-Quick and easy as they are
bought already assembled.
- Gutters are attached to the
roof of the house which lead
to a filter at the top of the
water tank where the
rainwater can infiltrate into
the body of the tank. There is
a pipe at the lower end of the
water tank which can be
opened/closed to release the
harvested rainwater.
Bamboo Water Tank
The estimated price is 600
USD for 5m3 and 900 USD
for 8m3 tank
Made at the site using local
materials
There is an abundance of
Bamboo in Rwanda, it also
grows relatively fast
Cheap to make compared to
polyethylene tank
Doesn’t require much space
- A site near the house was
selected, cleaned of debris and
levelled.
-A layer of sand was
compacted and concreted.
-A layer of concrete mix with
cement, sand and coarse
aggregate was placed on the
base.
-The bamboo reinforcement
cage was placed in position
and concreting of the based
was completed.
-Accessories such as scour
pipe, outlet pipe and overflow
pipe were installed.
-Plastering was done in two
stages starting from the
bottom.
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Semi-underground Water Tank
It is very low cost compared
to the Bamboo and
Polyethylene tanks, the
estimated cost being 300
USD for 6m3 and 367 USD
for a 10m3 tank.
It is easy for local
population to replicate as
nearly all raw materials
(with exception of iron
sheets and lining sheeting)
are made locally.
Already 9 HHs in 3
different districts have
undertaken construction of
these tanks using their own
financial resources.
-These tanks are constructed
following the steps for
building a small house with a
hallow floor with a plastic
sheet covering part of the
inside where the rain water is
stored.
-A window is added for
cleaning purposes and
-Accessories (pipes, pump)
are added for water capturing
from the rooves and water
lifting for usage.
-A roof is also provided for
hygiene and protection
purposes
-A local very simple
fabricated pump is added to
lift the water
Water Run-off Pond
Can irrigate a large area of
land
Expensive to construct (but
shared by several
households)
Most effective in farmers
cooperatives due to high
capacity for irrigation
The estimated prices varies
between 2,900 USD for
250m 3 and 4,300 USD for
480m3 and plus for the big
sizes.
Appropriate for the big
plots and not applicable at
individual household level
-Site selection close to the
command area, with no hard
rocks, the site should allow
the pond to receive much
runoff and avoid to the
maximum any type of
accident.
-Excavation is necessasy
-Covering the hole with a
plastic sheeting
-Construction of water drains
and silt trap
-A pump is needed for
watering
-Fencing for security and
safety.
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In total of 161 bamboo tanks of 5,000 to 8,000 litres volume per unit, 22 polyethylene tanks
of 5,000 litres volume per unit and 570 semi-underground tanks of 6,000 to 10,000 litres
volume per unit were installed at 753 households. Twelve poly-lined runoff water ponds with
480,000 and 250,000 litres capacity were constructed with farmers in cooperative groups. The
project covered all external material and technical costs while the householders and groups
contributed with labour and local materials. Delivery from the bamboo and plastic tanks is by
gravity but EMAS3 pumping systems were installed with the semi-underground tanks and foot
pumping systems are being tested for the ponds. Community members were trained in
construction and maintenance of the technologies and provided with tools for maintenance.
Training was also given in gardening using the collected water as the purpose of the project
was to help villagers improve their lives by using the rain water harvested for vegetable
production.
3. Results and discussion
Nine communities participated and successfully tested the technologies. As a result, 753
households (298 MHHs & 455 FHHs) installed one or two technologies and are now harvesting
and storing the rain water for their farming activities, mainly homestead vegetables
production... Findings from an internal survey show that vegetable production is 1.8 to 2.9
times greater for 753 HHs with rain water harvesting tanks compared to the control group not
supported by the project within the same communities (Figure 1).
Additionally, 374 Households (231 FHHs & 143 MHHs) grouped into farmers’ cooperatives
installed 12 run- off water ponds with 480,000 and 250,000 Litres capacity to irrigate their
group plots (17 ha). This has reduced strongly crop stress usually observed when the rain stop
earlier than anticipated.
Training on installation and maintenance of kitchen gardens was a fundamental component of
the project to ensure the harvested water was used for vegetable production at household level.
Previously, many households had not used kitchen gardens and most had not used harvested
rain water for irrigation purposes. The seeds and training on how to effectively use these seeds,
along with knowledge in ecologically sustainable farming practices i.e. mulching to reduce
3 The EMAS pump (also called the EMAS Flexi pump) is a very cheap PVC piston pump for family use, which
can both pump water from a well and pump it to an elevated point.
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evaporation loss and slow infiltration rates; improved watering techniques helped improve
production levels. Project participants mentioned that the harvest from their kitchen gardens is
much greater than from the traditional methods.
Figure1: An example of the comparison between vegetable production by project participants
Vs non participants in the same area in Nyamagabe District; chart produced by Trocaire M&E
Officer during the vegetable production analysis for the period from February to May 2016.
Finally, eight communities have developed village climate change adaptation plans and
established Village Water and Climate Change Committees (VWCCs). The VWCCs have
presented the findings of their village water resources investigations to higher authorities.
Having brought various issues to the attention of the authorities, they have received some
immediate responses from higher government decision makers. As a result, two of the 3
Districts have included the rain water harvesting among the key priorities in their Development
plans following the results from the pilot phase. Informal mining has been suspended in one
village and budgetary provisions will be made for repairing a piped water system in another
village.
Mind-set change has been achieved at both village and higher governance levels. Villagers
realise that they have power to change the management of communal water resources and
factors affecting them. Higher government has opened its eyes to some very serious problems
relating to water resources, soil erosion, floods and dry spells and are willing to act. Higher
authorities are grateful to villagers and to the project for establishing and training the Village
Climate Change and Water Committees and for making climate change adaptation plans.
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Higher authorities are very happy at the speed, quantity of infrastructures in place and quality
of their installation to promote the rainwater harvesting systems as this is part of the
government’s plan and priorities.
Following the experience from the pilot phase, other NGOs have copied technologies in other
villages within the same Districts. Examples from Kamonyi District are that the district is going
to copy the project in 12 other Sectors (administrative units in Rwanda) using the national
climate change fund, FONERWA, which receives international donor contributions.
3.1.Project sustainability
The project has promoted ownership by communities and local civil society partners which
enables the continuation of project activities after the project end. Four implementing partners
have a well-established presence in the project’s target communities, and will continue to
provide ongoing technical support to the community members.
The project sustainability and impact has been ensured also through trainings on installation
and maintenance of kitchen gardens for vegetable production, training of project participants’
local technicians, publishing a manual about the management and maintenance of each
technology and by establishing a community based maintenance and reparation fund in each
of the project sites. Savings are realised on regular basis to increase the capacity of the fund
established and will be used for the repair of the technologies if damages occur. There is a
water and climate change committee elected by the members in each of 8 villages working as
catalysers for the management and maintenance of the tanks established together with the
implementation of their community based climate change adaptation plans.
3.2.Key Lessons
1. Success from the project was driven by the following:
Trócaire and partner staffs’ openness to the new whole-village, catchment -wide
approach. They had previously focussed on on-farm and cooperative activities with
individual households selected for their household vulnerability and poverty. This
was a new approach which went wider-than -farm and considered whole village
communities and their catchments.
Strong trusting relationships between the partners and the villagers and between
Trocaire and the partners.
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The placing of water technologists in partner organisations and with responsibility
for facilitating only two villages each. The technologists were able to provide day-
to-day technical and organisational advice and support to the householders and the
village community.
Excellence and efficiency of engineering and technical teams. Deadlines and targets
were met and community time was not wasted. Also trust between the contractors
and the householders was at a high level because of this efficiency.
Use of participatory methodologies which were newly introduced to the field
workers and the communities. There is need to provide participatory skills training
and guided practice experience to communities, extension workers and NGO
managers in Rwanda because such skills are not as widespread in as in other
developing countries. Such skills can make a contribution to community cohesion
and governance beyond natural resources management.
The combination of granting of rain water harvesting technologies simultaneously
with the community planning processes. This meant that a large proportion of
householders could see immediate results from the rainwater harvesting
technologies while being requested to participate in the wider and slower
community process of analysing water resources and planning for their
management. There is a fund established by the community members in each of 9
villages for the maintenance and repair of the technologies. Additionally, each
village has finalised their action plan toward the climate change adaptation and they
have begun the implementation of some activities with only minimal external
support.
All players, especially villagers, were interested and committed to participating –
no sitting allowances involved!
Close collaboration with government at village, cell, sector and district levels. Fully
transparent collaboration with government is obligatory for NGOs in Rwanda.
Done well it leads to government support to and adoption of project innovations. It
thus can lead to action above the village level and to elevation of innovation to
higher levels, even the national level.
2. Non-confrontational presentation of facts, such as villagers making public presentations
of water resources issues through maps and the individual village vulnerability
matrices, is an effective advocacy tool in Rwanda. It gives communities a framework
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for expressing the specific bio-physical and socio-economic risks and threats which
they are facing in their particular environments.
3. Women gain confidence when given their own space for expression and are then ready
to take up leadership and representation roles. Of the 84 committee members, there are
more women (47) than men (37) and the women are active and vocal in meetings in the
villages and elsewhere.
4. Better management of water from homes and yards reduces conflict with downslope
neighbours. Before the project interventions for rainwater capture there were cases of
conflict with downslope neighbours because the runoff from upslope compounds was
eroding their land. Once the rainwater harvesting systems were installed the erosion
stopped and the conflicts were resolved.
5. Reasonably cheap rainwater harvesting solutions are available and some technical
expertise exists in Rwanda, however, they are not widely disseminated.
6. Semi-underground tanks can be made more accessible, safer and more hygienic by
installing simple hand pumps. No pumps were being provided for semi-underground
tanks in the northern areas of Rwanda from which this project sourced the construction
expertise. Therefore a very simple suction pump (EMAS pump) for each tank was
constructed the first time on site with simple and available material at local level. This
is a new innovation for semi-underground tanks in Rwanda.
7. The greatest problem in all nine communities is soil erosion within the farm fields
resulting in production losses, gully formation, land slippage and siltation of wetlands.
Although this pilot project has identified the problem, further experimentation with
solutions to this problem is needed.
8. There is very high value in engaging communities in water resources analysis and
planning. This value supports community cohesion, agricultural production and overall
environmental resilience.
3.3.Encountered challenges and proposed solutions
1. Following the findings from the monitoring conducted during the last dry season, the
capacity of the constructed water tanks (5,000 Litres to 6,000 Litres) is too small to
bring the family through the dry season. As the rain is enough to fill more than 6,000
Litres, Trόcaire jointly with partners and SCIAF have decided to increase the volume
of tanks up to 8,000 Litres for bamboo tanks and to 10,000 Litres for semi-underground
tanks. Greater attention also needs to be given to soil moisture retention measures.
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2. The householders are not measuring their water usage and although the government
advice against it, the harvested water is being used for drinking purposes. It is important
to set in place simple systems of recording the harvest of water and the use of water so
that the householder can decide on the priorities and decide on how to manage the
available water.
3. The rainwater harvested is not considered potable but looks cleaner than some of the
river water being consumed towards the end of the dry season. Trόcaire didn’t test the
rainwater but plans to take samples from several tanks and have them tested in
laboratories. Trόcaire is also looking forward to find suitable ways for the householders
to ensure that this water is cleaned before use. Sterilisation fluid (chlorine base) has
been distributed in the past but it doesn’t kill all germs. Tulip filters are now being
tested for suitability.
4. Initially, the project used hard plastic sheeting for both the ponds and semi underground
tanks. It has been noticed that the hard plastic sheeting is appropriate for the ponds and
not for the semi underground tanks. In this regard, flexible sheeting have been adopted
for the semi underground tanks to minimise the damages.
5. Technical construction errors need to be rectified and avoided in the future by better
training and supervision for those constructing the installations
6. The extent of climate change impact in the project areas is not well known; apart from
localisation of global data and from regional level meteorological data, there is very
little information about the actual weather in the project areas. Regular recording of
rainfall and water levels should be done in each village to help build up a picture of the
weather and water relationships.
4. Conclusion
The pilot project has been very successful and there is huge demand by villagers, local and
higher government to replicate the Community IWRM processes and the RWH technologies.
In order to do this, further investment is needed in training for both the community watershed
catchment planning processes and the RWH technology installation and maintenance in an
integrated way. The government of Rwanda has identified the Integrated Water Resources
Management as an important strategy for the country. However, national and district levels
should involve Village level committees more in water resources management. This can be
done by and better clarifying their roles for water and natural resources management, by
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strengthening their mandate and by providing training. The government should also commit to
finding means to provide these supports to these nationwide village committees by including
them formally under the legal and funding instruments at their disposal. Credit institutions
should consider provision of credit for RWH installations and the government and donors
should consider such interventions for grants under their Climate Change Adaptation strategies
and budgets. Technological interventions should provide budgets and time for experimentation
to find technologies which best suit users especially women and girls.
References
1. Ministry of Natural Resources MINIRENA (2013) Water Resources Management Sub-
Sector Strategic Plan. Kigali, Rwanda
2. National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (2012) EICV3 District Profile South. Nyanza,
Nyamagabe, Kamonyi
3. REMA (2015) State of the Environment Report. Kigali, Rwanda
4. Trocaire (2015 a) Roof and runoff rain water harvesting & Waste Water use:
Technologies need assessment in 8 villages of Nyanza, Kamonyi and Nyamagabe
Districts. Kigali Rwanda
5. Trocaire (2015b) Baseline survey on water resources; assessment and recommendation.
Kigali, Rwanda
6. Trocaire (2015 c) Manual for the Preparation of a Community-Based Adaptation Plan
with a focus on Water Resources. Kigali, Rwanda
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Annexes
1. Checklist used in data collection for water harvesting systems installation
I. IDENTIFICATION Observations
I.1. Household name -
I.3. Village (Umudugudu) and Cell -
I.4. Sector and District -
II. QUESTIONS Observations
II.1. What is the site occupancy
(people) in terms of number family
member
-
-
II.4. In which condition are the
existing rainwater harvesting
facilities
a)poor
b)good
II.5. For which purpose harvested
rainwater will be used?
a) Cleaning--
b) Washing--
c) Drinking--
d) Cooking--
e) Latrines--
f) Livestock
g) Other--
II.7. Indicate the direct negative
impacts of rainwater runoff to your
surrounding
-existing of erosion,
gullies, flood, etc.
II.8. Indicate the type of roof in
terms of materials
a) Iron sheets
b) Tiles
c) Asbestos
d) Others
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II.9. Presence of gutters a) Available
b) None
II.10. Is the site access road in good
conditions
a) Yes
b) No
II.12. What will be your contribution
to the project implementation?
-
-
2. Pictures
Picture 2.1: Bamboo tank construction process
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Picture 2.2: Semi underground tank construction process
Picture 2.3: Runoff water pond construction process